The Biological Park here that made an entry into the record book by successfully breeding hoolock gibbons in captivity last year looks set to add another feather in its cap with Central Zoo Authority according green signal to Delhi Zoo to get a male hoolock gibbon which will soon frolick with its would-be mate, a female gibbon at Delhi Zoo.
Two decades of conservation efforts to breed hoolock gibbon in captivity that failed to reap rewards in zoos across the world bore fruit at the Biological Park here at Itanagar in July last year.
The otherwise nondescript Biological Park, about four km from Itanagar, hogged all the limelight, when Rukmini, a female hoolock gibbon and Lagdeer, her male partner, gave birth to a kid in the confines of the man-made park.
Dr Jikom Panor, the Veterinary officer and the brain behind the first-ever successful breeding programme in the world said that one year after we successfully ran hoolock gibbon breeding programme, the Biological Park-cum-Zoo is set for another rare feat. Moreover, I feel elated as the conservation method that was adopted by me found takers in Delhi Zoo. ‘Cute’ would be dispatched to the Zoo soon, he said.
The director of Delhi Zoo, DN Singh expressed his desire to run a captive breeding programme at Delhi Zoo too. Under animal exchange programme, a male hoolock gibbon will be transported to Delhi Zoo while the Delhi Zoo would give an Emu, a Macaw and a Peahen to the Itanagar Zoo.
The Central Zoo Authority instructed Delhi Zoo authorities to make adequate arrangements for captive breeding of hoolock gibbon considering the torrid weather conditions there. Singh also sought Dr Panor’s expertise in running the breeding programme at Delhi Zoo. All the credit goes to Dr Panor for making a daunting task successful with minimal infrastructural support. Initially, a sum of Rs 1 crore was sanctioned for running the 10-year-long project.
He made a survey on behaviour and habitat of the endangered species in Lower Dibang Valley area, where the population of hoolock gibbon is mainly concentrated.
In tune with the National Zoo Policy, which came up in 1998, five pairs of hoolock gibbons out of total 15 gibbons from the Delo area were chosen for the breeding programme. Hoolock gibbons (Hoolock leuconedys), mainly found in the North East, which is one of the two biodiversity hotspots in India, are a rare species.